Maintaining the ground cover in your landscape beds is crucial to keeping your landscape in North Carolina looking beautiful and to ensure your plants can always reap its benefits. If you're planning to refresh your mulch, which should be done every year, you might be wondering whether it's necessary to remove the old mulch before adding a new layer. Well, the answer is that you usually don't need to remove the old layer because it will break down and decompose on its own over time. However, you don't want to exceed a thickness of 3 inches, so you may need to remove some of the old layer if it will cause you to exceed it. It is recommended that you hire professionals to install mulch in your landscape beds to ensure that the job is done right!

If the old mulch has broken down enough, it’s okay to add new mulch on top.

Mulch installed on a property in Greensboro, NC.

When it comes to adding a new layer of mulch to your landscape beds, you are probably wondering if you will first need to remove the old layer! Well, the good news is that you usually don't need to! Because mulch is made up of organic materials, it will break down on its own over time! This means that when you add a new layer on top of it, the old mulch will eventually decompose, so there's no point in removing it.

As mulch decomposes, it will release its nutrients into the soil!

You should remove old mulch if necessary to ensure the new layer does not exceed 3 inches.

When deciding whether to add new mulch on top of old mulch, it is important to consider the thickness of the existing layer. This is because too much mulch can create unfavorable conditions for plant growth and health. When the mulch layer is too thick, it can hinder proper airflow around the roots, which in turn can prevent water penetration and oxygen access.

To ensure optimal plant growth and health, it is important to maintain a proper mulch layer thickness of no more than 3 inches. So, if adding new mulch on top of your old mulch will make it exceed 3 inches, you should remove some of the old ground cover before laying the new mulch.

Make sure there is a one-inch gap between your mulch and the base of your plants to prevent smothering them.

Hire professionals to install mulch in your landscape beds.

Black lawn care truck parked on a street in Greensboro, %%state%.%.

Installing or replacing the mulch in your landscape beds is labor-intensive work, which makes it best to leave it to the pros. By hiring professionals to handle your mulch installation, you can expect a job done right with no sweat off your back! They know exactly how thick your mulch needs to be to reap the most benefits without causing damage. Professionals also have experience installing mulch, so they can get the job done quickly and efficiently.

Call us today to schedule our mulch installation service!

Adding mulch to your landscaping beds is an easy yet effective way to improve their appearance while providing additional health benefits for your plants. At Ideal Landscaping & Irrigation, we follow best practices when installing mulch to ensure that the job turns out great and your plants can reap all of the benefits that come with a fresh ground cover.

We offer our mulch installation service to property owners in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Summerfield, and surrounding areas in North Carolina. We recommend scheduling this service once a year to maintain the beauty of your landscape beds and provide your plants with health benefits. Give us a call today at (336) 396-9191 to sign up!